Firebrand is a 2023 British historical drama film directed by Karim Aïnouz and written by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth, based on the 2013 novel Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle. The film focuses on Catherine Parr, Queen of England, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. It stars Alicia Vikander, Jude Law, and Eddie Marsan. The film marks Aïnouz's first directorial effort in the English language.
Firebrand premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023, where it was selected to compete for Palme d'Or. It was released in the United Kingdom on 6 September 2024.
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Plot
Catherine Parr (Vikander), the sixth wife of King Henry VIII (Law), is named regent while the king leads his army in France. Catherine looks after Henry's children, Mary, Elizabeth, and Edward. Catherine takes risks to meet up with an old friend, Anne Askew, who is preaching Protestantism and later executed as a heretic.
When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Catherine finds herself fighting for her own survival as Henry's courtiers increasingly try to turn the king against her. Catherine becomes pregnant, but has a miscarriage shortly after.
Bishop Gardiner believes Catherine's religious views are dangerous, and convinces Henry to have her arrested. She is locked in a dungeon, but Henry soon frees her. Afraid for her future, she goes to his bedside and kills him.
